Why Should You Backpack Around Romania?
I tend to go to places without doing much
research in advance and Romania was not an exception, this was such a great
surprise of a country as it has incredible natural scenery, beautifully
preserved old towns, lots of castles, tasty food, and very friendly people! what
else do you need?
Romania is also great for traveling on a budget and that doesn't mean that you're compromising on quality as most of the hostels I stayed in were really cool and the fantastic traditional food comes in enormous portions. Traveling around the country is also pretty easy and inexpensive by train and bus.
Tip 1: An Ideal Itinerary For Traveling Around Romania
I spent a month backpacking Romania, mostly
split with a couple of weeks around Transylvania and then a couple of weeks in
Bucharest enjoying the bustling Romanian capital.
If you're looking to mix culture,
historical places, and nature I'll recommend starting in Transylvania and ending in
the south by the Black Sea. My recommended itinerary for a couple of weeks,
which you could also make into 10 days or much longer would be:
Sibiu 1-2 Days for beautiful architecture
and start indulging in Romanian cuisine!
Hunedoara 1 Day to visit the stunning Corvin
Castle.
Cluj-Napoca 3-4 Days the city is beautiful
and you can make day trips to Turda Gorge and Salina Turda (Salt Mines), you
can also go to the opera for just 5€ and it's pretty cool and something
different to do!
Sighisoara 1 Day to explore the stunning
birthplace of Vlad the Impaler who inspired the fictional character of Count
Dracula! the old walled town is so beautiful!
Brasov 3-4 Days to explore this little town
surrounded by mountains with plenty of trails around. When staying in Brasov, I highly
recommend doing day trips to Bran to visit Dracula's Castle and some hiking in
the Bucegi mountains and another day trip to Sinaia to see the fairy-tale-like
Peles Castle.
Bucharest 3-4 Days, Romania's capital was
nicknamed Little Paris because of its architecture, although you will also find
the heaviest building ever built, the Parliament building.
Vama Veche 1 Day, this little beach town by
the Black Sea is a perfect place to relax after so much wandering around the
country. I stayed camping there and the vibes were fantastic!
Tip 2: Best Places To Visit In Romania
For me, the best part of backpacking around Romania is to travel around Transylvania as the atmosphere, the castles, the vampire
stories, the food, and the people made a terrific combination! In my 10 great places to visit in Romania post, I shared more details about the itinerary shown above.
Cluj-Napoca and
Brasov were my favorite places as they combine cool architecture with easy
options to travel around for incredible scenery. But make sure to spend at least a couple of days in the capital Bucharest as it's also really cool!
Tip 3: Top Things To Do In Romania
Castle-seeing all over Transylvania for
sure! In case you're looking for some incredible hiking, go to the Bucegi
Mountains! You may even encounter a bear or two!
If you're more into cities, Bucharest is a
wonder to wander around! it has so many beautiful buildings, even though many
were destroyed by WWII, earthquakes, and Ceauşescu's systematization program.
But there's plenty to see, I stayed for two weeks in the capital and I didn't
get bored at all!
You can also count on bustling nightlife, cool coffee
places, little restaurants hidden in gardens, and easy reach to the coast and
Transylvania.
Tip 4: Budget To Explore Romania
Romania is a perfect country for backpacking on a budget. Hostels normally start from about 5€, beer
tends to be less than 1.5€ and a proper traditional meal will cost about 5€ or
even less for a hearty soup.
My favorite snack on the go was Covrigi which
are pretzel-like filled pastries that costs about 0.5€! My favorite one is
the one with savory cheese! Not the sweet cheese which I found a bit weird!
The tickets to the castles cost between 6-8€ and a coffee just about 1€.
You can easily travel around Romania by train, stay at a nice hostel, visit tourist attractions, and eat in traditional restaurants for 25€ per day. And it's pretty easy to make it even cheaper if you prepare your meal at your hostel. But as I always want to try the local food, I tend to skip that.
Tip 5: How To Pack For Romania
I've been both in winter and late spring
and you can bet on getting some pretty warm clothes for the winter! The Spring
is very Mediterranean-like.
When I decided to go traveling the world, I didn't
have the luxury to pack for specific countries. So I always had to carry on my
rucksack winter and summer clothes. In my post about how to go traveling for a year, I list everything that I carried on my rucksack over almost three years.
Tip 6: Best Time To Explore Romania
I'm not too fussy about seasons wherever I
go as it's up to us to make the best out of the circumstances, but having been
in winter and springtime in Romania, my time from March onwards was wonderful
as it's warm enough to go for outdoor drinks at night in Bucharest.
Tip 7: Safety Tips For Solo Travelers Backpacking Romania
I never felt unsafe anywhere in Romania,
except on one hike where I found some footprints that I think were from a bear!
so if you're out in the mountains make sure to ask the locals what to do if you encounter one!
For the rest of the country, I only found super nice and friendly people. I used trains or buses to get around and never felt unsafe at all. In some countries, Romania and its neighbors have a less-than-good reputation, but I feel that's completely unfair as I was treated incredibly well everywhere I went and it's a country that I'd definitely visit again someday.
Tip 8: Working Opportunities For
Backpackers In Romania
I didn't volunteer in Romania as I tend to
do that in more expensive countries, but I wrote a blog post about my tips for finding a Workaway which are applicable to all countries.
Bucharest is possibly the best place for
finding a job as a teacher or whatever your talents are as it's a thriving
capital which is much more developed and modern than I'd have thought before
going there. Most young people speak English tough so don't think it will be as
easy as finding a teaching gig in Asia.
Tip 9: Entry Requirements For Romania
Being part of the European Union, the entry
requirements for Romania are zero if you have a European passport, if you're
from somewhere else, the rules that apply to visit any European country are
likely to be the same.
If you're already traveling inside Europe, you can travel between neighboring countries such as Hungary or Bulgaria without
even passport control at the border if you go by bus or train.
Tip 10: Best Ways To Get Around In Romania
I used trains and
buses to get around Romania. Both were inexpensive. As I like traveling by train, I always preferred this transport whenever I could. To give you an idea of the costs, a train
ticket between Bucharest and Brasov is only 5€. A return ticket from Brasov to
Poiana to see the beautiful Peles Castle only costs 3.5€.
Buses are even
cheaper!
Tip 11: Best Things To Eat In Romania
Some of the traditional Romanian dishes are
similar in various Eastern European countries such as Sarmale (cabbage rolls
filled with meat), Mici (kebab-like grilled meat), Polenta-based Mamaliga side
dishes, and a variety of soups or Ciorba with the tripe soup being the most
traditional in Romania.
I particularly loved the roasted pork knuckle, the Covrigis that can be found in every bakery, and the indulgent Papanasi desert which are Romanian doughnuts filled with cottage cheese and topped with jam!
Tip 12: Unique Experiences In Romania
I'm an outdoor lover
so the short hikes I did were fantastic! But aside from the incredible
mountains I also enjoy visiting historical places and the castles around
Transylvania were so beautiful and full of history that they differentiate the
traveling experience of Romania compared to other countries.
Other cool travel articles you might enjoy!
